Hickey roll and method of making same

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical core having a covering of rubber impregnated with nylon fibers the rubber of which is vulcanized after securing it to the core and then said covering is ground leaving a substantial number of fiber ends protruding from the peripheral surface of the rubber.

Menges et al.

HICKEY ROLL AND METHOD OF MAKING 2,730,770 SAME 2,765,496 2,775,195 [75]Inventors: Louis J. Menges, Barrmgton; Robert 3 4 0,222

l-l. Wolff, Chicago, both of lll. [73] Assignee: Marathon RollersIncorporated, I Chicago, lll. [22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1972 21 Appl. No.7220,972

[52] 11.8. Cl. 29/120 [51] Int. Cl B21b 31/08 [58] Field of Search29/120, 132, 131, 130,

[56] References Cited rubber;

v UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,497,696 2/1950 Smith.; 29/120 X 1 I" 1111 "illlzlylli, 14

[111 3,808,657 May 7,1974

Primary Examiner-Alfred R. Guest Attorney, Agent, or FirmJohn J. ByrneABSTRACT A cylindrical core having a covering of rubber impregnated withnylon fibers the rubber of which is vulcanized aftersecuring it to thecore and then said covering" is ground leaving a substantial number offiber ends protruding from the peripheral 'surface of the 1 Claim, 4Drawing Figures PATENTEB MAY 7574 1 IIICKEY ROLL AND METHOD OF MAKINGSAME as small spots or defects. The problems and difficulties presentedby hickies are discussed in some detail in US. Pat. to James 0. Allen,No. 3,252,416, patented May 24, 1966.

A common method of removing hickies is through the use of a hickey rolldisposed adjacent the image area of the plate cylinder. These rollersare covered with a material having a short nap which will whisk thehickies away from the plate. Leather hides sewn about the roller coreare oftentimes utilized. However,

leather hides are expensive and ditficult to clean. The leather must beremoved periodically and handwashed. If it is not kept clean, itseffectiveness drops off quickly and can damage the plate. Another priorart method is theuse of a Corfam material which is helically wrappedabout the core of the roller and secured thereto by an adhesive. TheCorfam is ground to the specified diameter, leaving a nap which iscapable of removing hickies. One advantage of this product is that theroll can be washed without removing it from the core. The Corfamrollers, after grinding, are more uniformly round than the leatherrollers but still cannot be cleaned automatically. Again, if the Corfamis not given a great amount of care, it will lose its effectiveness.-

A principal objective of this invention is to provide a roller whichovercomes many of the above-identified difficulties and provides along-life roller to overcome the hickey problem.

Another important objective of this invention is to provide a durableroller with superior removing characteristics which can be automaticallyresurfaced by grinding.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a hickey roller whichcan be washed automatically.

Another important objective of this invention is to provide a method ofmaking a hickey roller of the above-mentioned type. These and otherobjects of the invention will become more-apparent to those skilled inthe art by reference to the following detailed description when viewedin light of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the hickey roll of this invention;

of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective showing the taping operation; and

FIG. 4 is a showing of aroll in cross-section after vulcanization and asection of which has been ground.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like parts,the numeral 10 indicates the hickey roll of this invention. The roll iscomprised of .a metal core or roller 12 wrapped by a layer offiber-rubber mixture 14a and rubber 14b. As'seen in FIG. 2, the

composition of the layer 14a is comprised of a-nitrile PVC blendedrubber with 30 parts of nylon flock, the fibe r 's' ot whiehir elndicated by the numerals 16. The fibers 16 are approxmately one-halfinch in length and the layer is a mixture of 30 parts flock in thenitrile PVC rubber.

The drawings show the flock is evenly distributed. In practice it hasalso been found that the outer boundaries of the roll can contain fromto 50 parts flock with the middle portion of 20 to 40 parts thereof.Additionally in practices it has been found that flock ranging from 6 to53 denier in the outer boundaries of the roll and from to 30 denier inthe middle boundaries has been found desirable.

In manufacturing the layer 14a, the above-mentioned flock is thoroughlymixed with the rubber and made into sheets. The width of the sheets areequal to or an even fraction of the longitudinal length of roll 12. Thelength of the sheet is such to accomplish building plies to a one-halfinch thickness per side on the roll. The

layer. 14a is disposed over the layer 14b which is in turn disposed onthe core 12 and wrapped with a polypropylene or cotton tape 18 as shownin FIG. 2. Both of the layers 14a and 14b are uncured at this stage.After taping is completed and the roller ends covered, the unit issubjected to steam vulcanization temperatures until the rubber is cured.The vulcanization. creates a self-adhering layer between the interface20 of the roller 12 and the layer 14. The cured unit is removed from thevulcanizing chamber, leaving a fiberous layer with therefrom. Rollerlife is thereby extended for two or FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectionalong the lines 2-2 I a half-inch thickness. This thickness is dressedor ground to a thickness of approximately one-fourth inch as shown inFIG. 4. When so ground, the fibers 16 will protrude in form of a nap, asseen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The abrading is accomplished with aconventional Carborundum wheel mounted on a lathe in the usual fashion.The thickness of layer 14b is determined or varied in accordance withthe final diameter desired for the finished roll.

When the roller is so dressed, it is placed in conventional printingpress machines adjacent the plate cylinder for hickey removing purposes.The nylon and rubber are very resistant to water and the usual cleaningcompositions used therewith. Because of this, the rollers can be cleanedvia in-press wash-up procedures.

Another advantage of this roll is when the protruding fibers becomeworn, an additional layer can be ground three times that normallyexpected.

In general manner, while there has been disclosed effective andefficient embodiments of the invention, it should be well understoodthat the invention is not limited to such embodiments, as there might bechanges made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the partswithout departing from the principle 'of the present invention ascomprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. A hickey roll employable in a printing operation in combi-nation witha plate'cylinder and used for whisking hickies and similar refuse fromsaid plate cylinder comprising,

a cylindrical steel core, a rubber layer vulcanized on the periphery ofsaid core, and a flock of nylon ing first ends projecting layer andsecond ends anchored in said layer, said fibers each having a length ofapproximately onehalf inch and a'denier of approximately 20, whereby acylindrical, brush-like unit is formed having fiber ends protrudingtherefrom sufficiently rigid for whisking hickies from said platecylinder.

- t it fibers interspersed in said layer havfrom said periphery of said

1. A hickey roll employable in a printing operation in combination witha plate cylinder and used for whisking hickies and similar refuse fromsaid plate cylinder comprising, a cylindrical steel core, a rubber layervulcanized on the periphery of said core, and a flock of nylon fibersinterspersed in said layer having first ends projecting from saidperiphery of said layer and second ends anchored in said layer, saidfibers each having a length of approximately one-half inch and a denierof approximately 20, whereby a cylindrical, brush-like unit is formedhaving fiber ends protruding therefrom sufficiently rigid for whiskinghickies from said plate cylinder.